Chapter 8: Big News

Marlene's heart speeds up, and it takes her a moment to respond to the woman on the other line.

"Yes, now is a good time," Marlene answers, waving to her friend, who gives her two thumbs up as she makes her way outside of the mall. "Just a moment please, I am moving to a quieter spot."

Outside, a gentle breeze passes by, and Marlene hopes it doesn't mess up her call. Hanging back under the mall's overhang, Marlene tells Lori she's at a better spot.

"I am happy to inform you that you have made it past our first stage in our interview process," Lori announces, "if you are still interested in this position, we would love to set up an in-person interview. Is there a day that would work for you?"

A wide grin grows on her face and a passerby gives her a funny look before returning to his business. She schools her grin into a small smile.

"Yes, I am still interested. Is there a time on Monday that would work for you?"

"Monday would be great! Is 3:00 P.M. okay?"

"That would work well for me," Marlene replies, swiping the phone screen over to the pad to make notes. They speak for a while longer, going over the basic information before ending the call.

For a moment, all Marlene could do was stare at her phone. 'Finally,' She thinks, a spark of hope igniting within her, 'maybe I can get back to some normalcy.'

The call center wasn't a job Marlene thought she'd ever take. With her many years working as a manager, Marlene thought she'd have luck getting a job at a nearby department store. Sure, it wouldn't be the same but she knew that some of her skills must be transferable.

But she never got past the first interview.

Strangely, prospective employers didn't like that she once worked for Fazbear Entertainment. Marlene didn't have the slightest clue as to why, but she was tired of it messing with her life.

"Maybe dad was right about Fazbear Entertainment," Marlene groans quietly. She then takes a breath and reminds herself that this is good news.

Pushing the doors open, Marlene spots Jesse waiting near the entrance.

"Sooo," Jesse draws out, "how'd it go?"

Marlene's smile grows wide again, '"I've got an interview on Monday."

"That's awesome! I'm so happy for you!"

As a jubilant mood ensnares the pair, Marlene and Jesse move on to their initial plans for the day: shopping. Well, sort of.

'Maybe not so much as shopping so much as browsing,' Marlene amends as they pass by the majority of the shops. Yet, she quickly changes her tune when she spots the giant red Q-Mart sign at the end of the hall.

Q-Mart is a home goods store. It was the sort of store that had been in the mall since Marlene was a kid. Glancing around, Marlene notices that while there were a few other customers, the store was pretty dead.

'There are fewer and fewer people each time I visit,' Marlene thinks as they make their way to the crafts area, 'I'd bet that this place will close in a few more years.'

While to say Marlene was attached to the store was a bit much, she did appreciate how cheap their prices were in comparison to everyone else. Marlene supposed that might be a part of the reason they weren't doing so well though. Besides the lack of customers anyway.

"What are you looking for?"

"A dry erase board set, crayons and…" Marlene replies, pulling up the note she made earlier on her phone, "blue glitter glue."

"That's… oddly specific?"

"I would hope so," Marlene laughs as she pockets her phone, "I asked my roommate what color he wanted."

Jesse gets a funny look on their face. "What's your roommate like anyway? Don't get me wrong! You're a pretty good judge of people, but this is a stranger to me. How long have you known him?"

Knowing a little over a week wasn't going to fly, Marlene blurts out the first logical timeframe she thought of.

"A few months."

"Oh really? That's a surprise. You're a bit of a hermit…"

Marlene frowns at their statement but doesn't argue. To her far more extroverted friend, she was rather recluse. 'I like people in small doses but I value time for myself too. What's wrong with that?' She thinks, now irked with the conversation.

"...so it's nice to see you meeting new people. How'd you guys meet?"

She pauses a moment, thinking of possible scenarios before settling on the one closest to home.

"We met at the Pizzaplex. He was one of our co-workers. You wouldn't really know him though because he mostly did…freight work, I think it was. He lost his job too, so we thought it made sense."

While the part about Sun's job was absolutely a lie, the rest was rather accurate. Marlene met Sun at the Pizzaplex when it was burned down. They'd been co-workers but they didn't meet that way.

"That's nice! What's his name? Maybe I'll remember!"

A name? Marlene didn't think Jesse would go so far. And Sun isn't a human name.

"Sam," Marlene answers, her poor heart abusing her ribs as she lies. Marlene didn't like this, not one bit. 'But I'm not ready for Jesse to know,' Marlene reasons, though it doesn't make her feel much better.

"Sam… There were a lot of Sams. Ah well, it was worth a shot…"

As the conversation begins to flow elsewhere, Marlene realizes she forgot to grab one of the red baskets at the entrance. 'No big deal I guess. It's only a few items,' Marlene thinks as they make their way to the crafts section, 'It shouldn't be too hard to carry.'

All the while, Jesse tells her a few stories and Marlene nods along. Jesse always had a way with words and Marlene enjoys listening to them ramble about different facets of their life.

"I saw my cousin - Morgan - last week. I think I've told you about her before. I was out for her wedding. Love her to bits. Anywho, there were these guests at the table over and they were the rudest people!"

Marlene laughs and notices that the closer they get to the supplies, the closer the topic of the conversation strays to work. As Marlene picks out a small dry erase board with a black frame, Jesse begins talking about the intricacies of coding. She nods along, though admittedly did not understand a word of it.

"You wouldn't believe how stupidly frustrating it can be! I code and it works the next day I add to it and suddenly that part is broken! It's a nightmare, I tell you."

"And you went to school for this?" Marlene jokes as she makes her way to the next aisle, scanning the shelves. As she spots the crayons, she whispers "Ah-ha!" and makes her way over to grab a box. Jesse rolls their eyes.

"Yeah," they sigh, "I do enjoy it. It's interesting and I like a challenge. It's just frustrating when nothing works."

"Difficult to please, aren't ya?" Marlene teases, shooting her exasperated friend a goofy smile before continuing the last item.

Glitter glue.

Not a necessity by any means, but Marlene reasoned it was only this once. Besides, Sun seemed to have more interest in books.

Libraries were going to be a blessing in the next few months, weren't they?

'Will he be around that long?' Marlene wonders as she glances around. At first, Marlene didn't spot the glue and Jesse had to point it out to her.

"Are you sure you don't need glasses? Because you're blind as fuck."

"Honestly? Probably." Marlene laughs but it's true. Her eyesight had been questionable even as a kid, but her ability to see the board didn't change how she did in school. Teachers never bothered her parents until it was time for a parent-teacher conference. Nowadays, Marlene sometimes has a hard time reading smaller letters on the TV. Not much of an issue since she didn't watch TV all that much but Marlene supposed that it was only a matter of time before it got worse.

Perhaps it was time to make an appointment to get her eyes checked.

'I'll put that on the to-do list,' Marlene thinks, shelving the problem.

Jesse begins a new story as Marlene bends down to pick out a bottle of blue glitter glue.

"You didn't work much with the animatronics, so you wouldn't know this but one of them adored glitter glue. Isn't that fun?"

The glitter glue slips from her hands, making a dull thunk as it hits the floor. Marlene freezes as a thousand responses race through her head but at the moment all she could do was say "O-oh? Is that so?"

"Yeah. He was called Sun. Or Sunnydrop. Whatever the case, I didn't work with him much. He was always appointed to the more talented team since his coding was high-level stuff, you know? I did get to see him up close a few times though."

"Interesting," Marlene says, picking up the bottle and tightening her grip. She really didn't plan to say anything at all but a question strikes her. "Did he need reprogramming often?"

Now there was an idea. Marlene didn't quite know what it would mean if Sun did or didn't receive rework. Would consistent reprogramming mean that he was glitchy or well maintained? In contrast, if he never was reprogrammed did that mean he was in perfect working order or great at pretending?

Did it mean anything at all?

'Or am I just thinking too much about it?' Marlene wonders as Jesse pauses to think a little. The silence allows for Marlene to hear the country music playing in the background. A questionable choice for a store in a mall, but Marlene couldn't care less. She wants answers.

"Not really. He was in for some fine-tuning here and there for the most part," Jesse replies as Marlene makes her way to the self-checkout, a beep ringing out as she scans the few items in her hands, "Well, up until the last month or so anyway. Then maintenance had to recode him a little. They put him on a list for a major overhaul but then… you know…"

'Then the Pizzaplex burned down,' Marlene surmises, nodding. The conversation flows elsewhere and they make their way to the front of the store. After paying for her supplies and grabbing the plastic bags, the duo leave the store. They visited a few other places and by the time they walked outside, the sun was setting. 'It got dark out quick,' Marlene thinks, a little sad the day was over. Still, as they slide into the car Marlene smiles.

She needed this day out. Marlene had been a bit too stuck in her head the last few days and Jesse always managed to bring her out of it. Sure, she liked time to herself but sometimes, the mind wasn't a good place to be.

They arrived home sooner than Marlene would have liked. She almost feels a little sour about it until she reminds herself that someone is waiting at home.

Suddenly, Marlene couldn't wait to go home for Sun to greet her.

With more than a couple of goodbyes, Marlene entered the house. Her brightly colored roommate greets her brightly, quick to appear at her side.

Remembering the call about the job, Marlene excitedly pulls Sun over to the sofa.

"Sun, guess what!?" Marlene sits down, patting the seat next to her. Sun seats himself close to her but she doesn't care so much at the moment. "I've got an interview!"

"An… interview?" Sun tilts his head and Marlene nods. His voice sounded quieter than it usually was, but Marlene assumes it was her imagination.

"Yeah, it's a part of our job process. It means I'm one step closer!"

Sun stills and arms limp at his sides. He doesn't speak, but Marlene could hear his fans running loudly.

"Sun?" Marlene asks, unsettled.

Marlene shifts to get a better look at him when Sun slumps onto her shoulder.

A/N - I am really busy next week, so I will not be posting next week. Instead, the next chapter will be posted the week after (3/11). See you all then!